


The Cost of Losing

by frecklesanddumbboys



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Angst, Friendship, M/M, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-05
Updated: 2018-06-05
Packaged: 2019-05-18 11:32:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,542
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14851958
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/frecklesanddumbboys/pseuds/frecklesanddumbboys
Summary: How Kent and Jeff deal with losing games.





	The Cost of Losing

**Author's Note:**

> This was a prompt I got that I ran off of. No one has edited it, so please forgive me for any mistakes. I might add a second part because the ending is sad, but tell me if you want a second part or not! 
> 
> If you wanna see anything else just ask!   
> Tumblr: frecklesanddumbboys

Kent Parson might not have the best coping skills, but he’s damn good at hiding it. He doesn’t need anyone knowing what’s really wrong and he can deal with things himself, that’s what he’s been telling himself for years. 

But, despite what he tells himself, he can be a complete mess when he deals with things by himself. He’ll drink it off or sleep it off. Isolate himself completely. 

Jeff Troy notices almost right away. Jeff doesn’t want to cross any boundaries, Kent is new to the team and Jeff knows things could get uncomfortable. So, as Jeff and Kent become better friends, Jeff encourages Kent to open up to him more. 

For the first time in a while, Kent felt like he had a really good friend, someone he could depend on. Jeff is there for him whenever he needs it, and Kent needs it. Jeff becomes someone Kent can come to about almost everything, and knows when somethings wrong. 

The stress of the season gets to Kent the most. He’s captain, and he takes every mistake as his own. Hockey is so important to him, it’s one of the only things he feels like he’s really good at. 

But his insecurities come off as cockiness and his stress and sadness as anger. That way, no one can really see how he’s feeling, and he doesn’t want anything rubbing off on the team. 

Jeff knows that losses are extremely tough. Jeff has never been one to take losses well, but he likes to think no one does. He mainly gets angry, frustrated from how he played and any big mistakes his teammates made. But he can get over it, and he uses the loss to fuel him for the next game. 

The first time Kent and Jeff spent a loss together it was the season after they won the cup. The Aces were supposed to be on track to make the finals again, but they lost the second game of the season. It was a home game, and one that they were assured they’d win. Statistically, it wasn't that bad, but to the team it was soul crushing. 

Jeff was changing in silence, not wanting to show how mad he really was. A lot of the guys were mad, but some took it on themselves to try and lighten the mood. But Kent was a different type of upset. 

Kent was never silent. He’s not really loud or a talker, but he always has a quip in there somewhere. Even if he’s angry. 

Jeff knew something was wrong, and his anger could wait. He waited until most of the guys were gone, or not anywhere near them to really check on him. 

He was crying. 

Actually crying. 

Not sobbing, but silent tears on a set scowl. Kent was trying to keep his face down, and wiped his face every few seconds, making sure no one saw him. 

“Parson?” Jeff asks him quietly, grabbing his shoulder. Kent looks over, a little surprised at first, but let’s his sadness take away his scowl. 

“Swoops.” Kent’s voice cracks a little bit. Jeff just nods and pulls Kent in a little bit, knowing he can’t help Kent here. 

“C’mon Kent, let’s get you home.” 

Since then, Kent and Jeff start a routine. Anytime they lose, Kent and Jeff go back to Kent’s house, eat shitty food and watch Kent’s favorite movies. It starts as Jeff taking care of Kent, but it helps both of them. Jeff isn’t so angry because he makes sure Kent’s okay, and Kent is learning to not blame himself. 

On the rides home from losses, Kent would say everything that he did wrong, and tell Jeff how he’s constantly disappointing the team. Jeff tells him that he’s being hard on himself and says, “We win as a team and we lose as a team.” And Jeff says this for himself too, because he tends to blame whoever made the most mistakes. 

It’s a cycle. 

Kent and Jeff have a good thing going, not only with their routine after loosing, but their friendship in general. They do almost everything together, even in off-season. They really care about each other, and their friendship is easy. 

But a blow out loss in the second round for the cup breaks what they’ve got going. They aren’t out yet, but they’re down 1-3, and it’s gonna be a climb to reach 4 wins. 

The guys are surprisingly upbeat, okay with their chances, which only makes Jeff angrier. He feels like no one cares, that he’s the only one that actually knows that they played horribly in this game. 

Jeff actually played well for the chances he had. He only got put in for about a quarter of the game, and he actually managed to steal the puck a few times. Each time he gave it to Kent. 

Kent, the leader of the NHL in total points, who missed 11 times tonight. 

Kent, who was joking with the guys, clapping everyone on the shoulder, saying that they’ll get them in the next round for sure. 

Jeff could feel how pissed he was getting. So he focused on getting out of there, the sooner he could leave and get back to the hotel the better. He didn’t want to snap on anyone, but he knew he could. 

“Swoops! You ready to head back to the hotel? I figured we could order off room service tonight instead of take out because it’s so late, and we could watch League of Their Own because I know you haven’t seen it which is crazy because of all the icons in that movie. I mean, one of Madonna’s-“ Kent starts, but Jeff stops him. 

“You know what, I just want to sleep tonight,” Jeff responds, not looking up, packing his bag quickly. Kent falters a little, but keeps his spirits up. 

“We don’t have to watch a movie, but we really should eat,” Kent tries, but Jeff doesn’t look up. He finishes packing, slinging his bag over his shoulder. 

“I’m not even hungry, let’s go.” Jeff is trying to be as calm as possible now, because he can’t hurt Kent. 

But on the ride home, all Kent can talk about is the game. Everything about the game, and mainly about how they can come back and how they didn’t do that bad in the game tonight. Jeff can only clench his fists and nod, making grunts so Kent doesn’t ask him any questions. 

The finally get to the hotel, up to their room, and Jeff thinks he’s home free. He’ll go to bed angry, and feel better in the morning. He needs his own time to calm down. 

Kent will not stop talking. He’s talking to fill the air, trying to make it less tense. But then he says, “Jeff, you shouldn’t be so hard on yourself right now. Your not the reason why we lost.” 

Jeff doesn’t respond, he just wants to go to bed. He knows he’s not the reason they lost, and he can’t help but blame Kent a little more than he did before. It’s just all the talking. 

So when Jeff hears, “We win as a team and we lose as a team,” Jeff knows that he snapped. 

“Really? That shit? Because it feels like I’m the only one who wanted to win tonight. Or the only one that sees the shitty situation we’re in.” Jeff almost yells back. Kent freezes, staring him down from across the room. 

“What the hell? We all care.” Kent says, and Jeff laughs bitterly. 

“Oh yeah we all care. Some of us care enough to try to score.” Jeff tries to mumble, but he knows Kent is close enough to hear. Jeff can see him stiffen in defense, knowing that he’s probably hurting Kent. But he’s too angry to really care. 

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” Kent tries to sound tough, but he’s sounds wrecked. He’s worked so hard to not blame himself, to get through this, and to hear Jeff, the friend that helped him, say this, it hurts him more than he could ever hurt himself. 

“Meaning, if I had 11 chances to score tonight, I probably would’ve made at least one!” Jeff yells. Kent’s face falls, but Jeff can’t even think right now. Jeff is gonna regret this, he is. He knows what he and Kent have, he knows how important it is to both of them. But right now, all he can think of is sleep. He climbs into the bed, and turns his back. 

Kent feels like he’s gone back years. But after that show he’s not going to cry. He turns out the lights, and faces away from Jeff. He stares in the dark, and waits for what feels like hours before he hears Jeff snoring. 

Kent is overwhelmed. He’s sad, of course he’s sad, but he feels anger as well. He can’t believe that Jeff would do that, and he can’t stop thinking. He knows he has to let it out if he wants a chance of sleeping at all. He lets himself cry after a loss for the first time in a while, and cries over Jeff for the time.


End file.
